Proposals expected from Obama to curb gun violence

A look at some of the proposals President Barack Obama is expected to announce:

BY CONGRESSIONAL ACTION

- Banning assault weapons. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., predicted such a ban might clear the Senate but he doubted it could get through the House.

- Limiting high-capacity ammunition magazines.

- Requiring background checks for all gun buyers. Currently, people who buy guns at trade shows and through some other private purchases, such as over the Internet, are not required to submit to background checks. Gun control advocates long have wanted Congress to close the "gun-show loophole."

- Installing a permanent director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It has had an acting director for some time.

BY EXECUTIVE ORDER

Vice President Joe Biden has identified 19 potential actions the president could take on his own. Among those:

- Ordering tougher penalties for people who lie on background checks; only a fraction of these cases currently are prosecuted. Such a step has support from the NRA, which argues that existing laws must be enforced before enacting new ones.

- Elevating gun trafficking to a felony.

- Ending limits that make it more difficult for the government to research gun violence, such as gathering data on guns that fall into criminal hands.

- Giving schools flexibility to use federal grant money to improve school safety, such as by hiring school resource officers.

- Giving communities grants to institute programs to keep guns away from people who shouldn't have them.

ADDITIONALLY

- Obama's proposals also are expected to include recommendations to address violence in entertainment and video games.